Overview
Erkhi Mergen Khan succeeded Abtai Sain Khan as head of the line that would become the Tüsheet Khan aimag, ruling from 1588 until about 1610 with the title Ochirai Mergen Khan. Sources record little of his reign beyond his place in the succession, between the founder who brought Buddhism to Khalkha and Gombodorj, the first to use the title Tüsheet Khan.
Rise to Power
He took Abtai's place on Abtai's death in 1588, inheriting a khanate newly committed to Tibetan Buddhism and centred on the monastery of Erdene Zuu.
Rule and Achievements
- Held the khan title from 1588 to about 1610, carrying it through the first generation after Abtai's conversion
- Kept the succession in Abtai's line, which passed to Gombodorj, the father of Zanabazar
- Ruled during the decades when Khalkha's eastern neighbours, the southern Mongols, were drawn toward the rising Manchu state
Legacy
Erkhi Mergen Khan's significance is continuity: he held Abtai's khanate together long enough for it to become an established house. His successor Gombodorj adopted the title Tüsheet Khan, and his great-grandson Zanabazar became the most important religious figure in Mongolian history.